Bag



y 1939. P. MATHIES'EN 2,165,869

BAG

Filed April 16, 1937 INVENTOR M I y B 3M ATTORNEY Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BAG Peter Mathiesen, Lyndhurst, N. J.

Application April 16,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to bags and more particularly to bags used for the storage of articles such as clothespins. While the utility of bags embodying the present invention is not confined to the storage of clothespins, a bag constructed for such use will serve to illustrate the advantages and principles of the invention, and will therefore be referred to for illustrative purposes.

It is an object of the invention to provide a bag which is so constructed that the mouth of the bag may be caused normally to stand open and to provide a wide entrance opening into which the hand and forearm of the user may be conveniently inserted.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a bag of the kind referred to which will be capable of expansion to provide a large holding capacity in relation to the size of the bag when collapsed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide in a simple and effective manner for reinforcing the portions of the bag which are used for suspending the weight of the bag, to the end that the strength of the various parts of the bag shall be proportioned more or less to the strain and wear to which they will be subjected in use.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a bag of the kind referred to which can be made in an inexpensive manner, both with respect to the economical use of material and to the economical utilization of labor in the construction of the bag.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and useful form of reinforcing and supporting hanger adapted to suspend the bag either from the clothesline or from a hook at the option of the user.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification and illustrating certain advantageous and practical embodiments of the invention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bag embodying features of the invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view of the bag of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in rear elevation illustrating the hanger used in the bag of Figures 1 and 2; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective View 11- lustrating a modified construction in whichthe reinforcing hanger is adapted to suspend the bag from a clothesline, and an eyelet or grommet is provided for suspending the bag from a hook or nail.

1937, Serial No. 137,343

In the illustrative bag of Figures 1 and 2, the entire bag proper is made up of a single rectangular piece of canvas I. Other fabric or other suitably flexible sheet material maybe advantageously employed, however. The sheet I is folded over at one end and stitched by a line of stitching 2 to form a hem. A stiffening bar 3, which is desirably a wooden stick, is inserted in the hem and confined to the central portion of the hem by transverse lines of stitching 4.

The sheet I is next folded transversely to divide it into a front portion 5 and a rear portion 6, the former considerably shorter than the latter. The front and rear portions are superposed, and their side margins are then united by lines of stitching 1. The side margins of the rear portion are folded inward slightly from points somewhat below the upper edge of the front portion, and the lines of stitching l are continued upward to hem the side margins of the rear portion which extend above the front portion.

The upper margins of the rear portion are next folded inward to substantially meeting relation at the middle of the rear portion. The upper end of the rear portion is then passed through a hanger 8 and folded over against the exposed faces of the turned in side portions of the back to form a facing flap 9. Stitching I0 is then applied to secure the flap 9 to the back, the stitching passing through the facing flap 9 and the back and also through the intervening turnedin side portions of the back. This completes the manufacture of the bag with the exception that the bag is wrong-side out. The bag when reversed is therefore ready for use.

In Figures 1 and 2 the bag is shown in the condition in which it is used. It will be observed that the folding and stitching operations last referred to have divided the back portion 6 into a back panel I I and rear side panels l2, and that the same operations have also divided the front portion 5 into a front panel 13 and front side panels Hi. In the fiat condition of the bag, the front panel l3 and the back panel ll form substantially isosceles trapezoids, the panel I3 having integral with it the in-turned triangular side panels I4 and the panel H having integral with it the inturned, triangular side panels l2. The triangular side panels l2 and M are connected to one another by the lines of stitching l to form triangular connecting webs between the front and back panels l3 and I4.

When the bag is suspended the stiffening bar bag) serves by its weight and stiffness to hold the mouth of the bag open so that the hand and forearm of the user can be conveniently inserted into the bag for withdrawing clothespins, and so that the user may drop Clothespins intothe open mouth of the bag with the utmost convenience and expedition,

The rear side panels l2 serve effectively to reinforce the back panel by which the bag is suspended.

The fact that the front of the bag terminates considerably short of the back of the bag, and the further fact that the front and back panels are connected through reentrantly disposed side panels l2 and I4, cause the bag to be widemouthed. The tapering construction of the bag from bottom to top, however, gives the bag a large storage capacity, the lower edge of the bag being substantially twice as long as the upper or suspending margin of the back of the bag.

In the form of bag illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the suspending hanger 8 comprises a single length of wire bent to bring its straight end portions l5 into alignment, and substantially into meeting relation. The extremities of the wire are desirably soldered or Welded or otherwise suitably secured to one another. The end portions l5, 15, are received in the hem at the rear top portion of the bag and serve to stiffen that portion of the bag. Beyond the side margins of the rear of the bag, the wire is bent to form inwardly directedstraight portions l6. At the inner extremities of the portions E5, the wire is bent to form rearwardly extending hooks l1, and is then further bent to form inwardly directed portions it which extend toward or into meeting relation. At the inner extremities of the portions 3 the wire is bent to form a suspending loop IS. The loop 19, and the portions l6 and I8, all lie in the same plane with the end portions l5 of the Wire. The hooks I! are substantially symmetrically disposed with relation to the middle of the hanger.

With the hanger constructed as described, the user may suspend the bag from a clothesline by means of the hooks H or from a hook or nail by means of the loop l9. When the bag is suspended by the hooks H, the mouth of the bag Will stand open. The same thing is true when the bag is suspended by the loop 19, if the back of the bag is turned toward the supporting wall. If the bag is turned away, however, to cause its mouth to face the supporting wall, the top of the back of the bag will be drawn inward close to the Wall so that the mouth of the bag Will be pressed closed by the wall and the upper rear portion of the bag will be caused to stand across the mouth and protect it against ingress of rain.

The bag may, if desired, be suspended from a belt or other garment worn by the user of the bag. Either the hooks H or the loop l9 may be used for this purpose.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, the construction is desirably the same as that of Figures 1 to 3, with the exception that the hanger 8 does not include a suspending loop, and that in lieu of the loop an eyelet or grommet 20 is applied through the upper margin of the back of the bag for suspending the bag from a hook or nail. The eyelet 20 is applied centrally to the upper margin of the bag and extends through the back panel and also through the facing flap 9. The eyelet is disposed below the reinforcing portion of the hanger which is received within the hem at the top of the bag.

While certain practical and advantageous embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that these disclosures are not intended to limit the invention but that it is my purpose to claim the invention broadly in whatever form its principle may be utilized.

What is claimed is:

1. A bag comprising a substantially rectangular piece of sheet material folded transversely to provide a front portion and a back portion, the former of the same width as, but of less height than, the back portion, stitching uniting the side edges of the front and back portions, the ends of the upper margin of the back portion being folded over against and stitched to the intervening portion of said margin to reinforce the back portion and restrict the upper margin thereof to an effective length substantially less than that of the free upper margin of the front portion and not substantially more than half the length of the bottom edge of the bag, and a stiffening and supporting member secured along the upper margin of the back portion.

2. A bag comprising a substantially rectangular piece of sheet material folded transversely to provide a front portion and a back portion, the former of the same width as, but of less height than, the back portion, stitching uniting the side edges of the front and back portions, the ends of the upper margin of the back portion being folded over against and stitched continuously to the intervening portion of said margin to reinforce the back portion and restrict the upper margin thereof to an effective length substantially less than that of the free upper margin of the front portion and not substantially more than half the length of the bottom edge of the bag, a stiffening and supporting member secured along the upper margin of the back portion, and a stiffening member secured along the middle of the upper margin of the front portion.

3. A bellows-like bag comprising a substantially rectangular piece of sheet material folded transversely to provide a front portion and a back portion, the former of the same width as, but of less height than, the back portion, stitching uniting the side edges of the front and back portions, the ends of the upper margin of the back portion being folded over against, and stitched to, the intervening portion of said margin to reinforce the back portion and restrict the upper margin thereof to an effective length substantially less than that of the free upper margin of the front portion, a stiffening and supporting member secured. along the upper margin of the back portion, and a stiffening member secured along the middle of the upper margin of the front portion, the latter stiffening member being of substantially the same length as the upper margin of the back portion.

4. A bag as set forth in claim 3 wherein the upper margin of the front portion is formed with a hem for receiving the stiffening member, and the stiffening member is confined to the middle portion of the hem by stitching extending transversely across the hem.

PETER MATHIESEN. 

